HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut woman disfigured in a 2009 chimpanzee attack says she’s “heartbroken” that lawmakers denied her request to sue the state for financial damages.

The Judiciary Committee voted 35-3 Wednesday to uphold last year’s decision by state claims commissioner denying Charla Nash’s request. The state is generally immune from lawsuits unless allowed by the commissioner.

Nash claimed state officials knew the chimp was dangerous and being kept without a permit by a Stamford woman. The claims commissioner and Attorney General George Jepsen maintain the state did not have a duty to protect Nash.

Nash says she’s devastated she won’t be able to tell her side of the story in a court, saying she wanted a chance to pay her medical bills and get the assistance to “live as normal of a life as possible.”